Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Sorry I haven't posted anything for a while. We took a vacation to the Oregon coast with another family and had a fun time. I LOVED the ocean, and even though it was freezing I played in it until I was pink. Then Mom and Dad decided to drive to Montana to visit my aunt, uncle and cousins. I am out of my element and having a little bit of a hard time, but considering the circumstances I'm doing ok. I have 15 mosquito bites on my legs (that's what I get for running outside with no clothes on) right now so I'm a little crabby, but I think I'll be better as soon as the benadryl kicks in. I'll have a couple of pictures of my trip to post once I get back home (one is of a "wanted poster" that was hung up all over the campground), so make sure you check back.

Also, there are three BIG fundraisers coming up. Today there is a scrapbook vendor fair in Southern California where they are selling raffle tickets for a gift basket with all of the proceeds going toward my dog. :) I'll keep you posted. Then on August 23rd there is going to be a scrapbook crop in Stanwood (I'll post more on that when I get home). And finally, on August 30th there is going to be a car wash at the Stanwood Haggen's with raffle baskets and things. I'll also post more on that as I know more.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

I have to say that today was the best visit so far! It started out with me, Mom, and Denise inside with Gypsy, but the weather was too nice, so we decided to go outside. This turned out to be a fantastic move. I was able to run around and do things I like (play in dirt and rocks) which made it easier for me to be with a dog. It was pretty cool to see the way Gypsy paid attention to me even though Denise had all the treats (Mom and Denise were pleased with that). Denise would tell Gypsy "find Aaron" and then Gypsy would come running to me. She would hang out with me for a minute and go back to Denise for a treat. She did this over and over again. Gypsy followed me around and smelled me a bunch, and I allowed her in my space and gave her some love. It was pretty neat for Mom to finally SEE the beginning of the possibilities of having a service dog. So here's where we're at: at this point is I'm going to continue meeting only with Gypsy to see how the interactions go so we know if she will be a good fit. Mom is working on scheduling another day to go up there for a visit. Hopefully we can get a bunch of visits in while the weather is still nice. Here are some pictures from today--have a good night!

Saturday, July 12, 2008

This week I got to go to Camp Prov, which is a camp for kids with disabilities. I got to go swimming, do crafts, sing songs and all kinds of other fun stuff. I had a special friend who was my buddy all week long. She was great, but of course no match for my escaping abilities. She DIDN'T lose me--I just made a bee line for the ice cream truck and hopped in it before she could catch me! I wonder what that ice cream truck driver was thinking?

We head up to Brigadoon on Tuesday, so I'll give you an update then. Have a great day!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

We're headed up to Brigadoon again on July 15th, so I'll have a new update for you with some new pictures. Denise at Brigadoon is doing a newsletter that is pretty interesting, so if you have the time you should check it out: http://brigadoondogs.com/news/. You can also sign up to get her newsletter via e-mail. It's pretty cool and has some doggie treat recipes and other fun stuff. Hopefully it'll be a quiet week this week. Saturday will mark the 5 year anniversary of the first time I wandered. (Yes, it was on a 4th of July camping night) Have a fun and safe 4th!Aaron

Mom has been thinking over the weekend trying to decide what to share on this blog and what shouldn't be shared. She decided to go ahead and share even the really-not-so-fun-stuff. On Friday mom got a phone call from CPS with a complaint that she leaves me unsupervised in an unfenced yard for 6 hours at a time (all while being in the buff). She was in total shock. There is just NO WAY she would leave me unsupervised--I would be out of there. What was even more upsetting was that whoever reported it knew my name and that I was autistic. It was the most insane allegation ever (with the exception of the naked part--but that's not illegal). After mom talked with the caseworker for 15 minutes he told her he was closing the file that evening. The good news is the file is closed. The bad news is that if someone (or they) calls CPS on her again there will be a record of a previous complaint. What she has learned from this: if you have a complaint or a concern with your neighbor call them or pay them a visit. Dealing with CPS is a BIG deal, and it's going to take a while to recover from this one.

My Story

Hi. I'm Aaron. I'm 8 years-old and I have autism. I can't talk yet, but I'm close. I do have a little problem (okay a big problem) with running away. I'm stealthy, fast, sneaky and silent.

Because I have such a problem with escaping, I need help from a service dog to help prevent me from running away. A dog that would block me when I was trying to run. This would help me and my parents a lot. See, it's hard to go to the park or beach because they spend the whole time chasing me (I have a brother and sister too). It's hard to go to friend and family get-togethers because they spend the entire time chasing me and can't visit with other people.

Check out my Diary of an Autistic Escape Artist for some of my escape stories. This would be an actual service dog so it could go to the store, school, and vacations with me. It would be my companion, and would help keep me safe.

The only roadblock is that a service dog is expensive. My parents have decided to go with an organization called Brigadoon Youth and Service Dogs. The fee for a service dog from Brigadoon is $5,000. That's where this blog comes into play. Getting a service dog is a long process. It will probably be 2009 before a dog could come home with me permanently.